A Yemeni provincial opposition politician thought to be active in a southern separatist movement was gunned down in south Yemen, his party and local residents said on Monday.

The Yemeni Socialist Party said Saeed Ahmed Abdullah bin Daoud was shot dead on Friday in the southern town of Zanjibar in Abyan province, adding on its website that the province was in "an unprecedented state of disorder".

Zanjibar residents said bin Daoud, a member of the Socialist party's leadership committee in the town, was also involved with southern separatists seeking independence from the central government.

There was no immediate word on the reasons for the killing.

The Yemeni government under pressure from the West declared war on al Qaeda last month, intensifying strikes and launching a manhunt in several provinces including in Abyan and other southern areas where separatists are also active.

North and south Yemen united in 1990 under President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been president of the north since 1978.

Saleh has said he is open for dialogue with separatists if they renounce violence, but diplomats see no movement toward this.


Agencies